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WASHINGTON - Construction spending edged up slightly in November as a continued steep slump in housing was offset by record spending on government and business projects. But a key gauge of manufacturing activity fell in December to the lowest point in almost five years.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf announced Wednesday that Scotland Yard will help investigate the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and authorities pushed back elections until Feb. 18 - a delay prompted by the rioting that followed her death.

NAIROBI, Kenya - International pressure mounted on Kenya's leaders Wednesday to end postelection violence that has killed more than 300 people, including dozens burned alive as they sought refuge in a church.

ALGIERS, Algeria - A car bomb exploded near a police station in a town east of the Algerian capital Wednesday, killing at least four officers and ripping off the building's facade, witnesses said. An Arab broadcaster reported that an al-Qaida branch claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egypt allowed more than 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims to enter the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, drawing a fierce rebuke from Israel, which had tried to prevent top members of the militant Hamas from returning home.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. general in charge of NATO's Afghanistan mission said Wednesday he expects another year of ''explosive growth'' in the country's poppy fields, a harvest militants will turn into weapons for use against Afghan and NATO troops.

WASHINGTON - U.S. admissions of Iraqi refugees are nose-diving amid bureaucratic in-fighting despite the Bush administration's pledge to boost them to roughly 1,000 per month, according to State Department statistics obtained by The Associated Press.

DEAR ABBY: I am one of your faithful readers and have personally related to some of the problems that appear in your column. I have been particularly moved by letters in which people share their personal experiences regarding acts of kindness.

KHARTOUM, Sudan - An American diplomat and his driver were shot to death Tuesday in the Sudanese capital, the U.S. Embassy said, a day after a joint African Union-United Nations force took over peacekeeping in Sudan's Darfur region.

Forest Heights Pharmacy, located at 4439 Country Club Road, was founded by the late Joel Sikes in 2006. He was a long time Brooklet resident. Joel sold the business to Ben Ross in 2008 after he became ill. Ben is a second generation pharmacist/pharmacy owner who grew up working in his dad's pharmacy, Ross Drug, in Sylvania. Ben, his wife, Lauren and their two girls, Lanie and Lucy Kate, are active Bulloch County residents.

For Dr. Al Mooney, Director of Addiction Medicine and Recovery at Willingway, one of the key factors that distinguishes this week's Addiction Update Conference is its "focus on the solutions rather than the problems."